Earth Day Education

Earth Day Education

The Global Hydrology and Climate
Center celebrates with local students

April
28, 1999: In celebration of Earth Day, scientists at the
Global Hydrology and Climate Center in Huntsville, Ala. held
an Open House to show local school children how they monitor
the health of the environment.

"It's just like fishing!" exclaimed Greg Cox, GHCC
scientist and NASA education specialist, as he struggled to reel
in a weather balloon.

The scientists had filled the big red balloon with helium and,
like a kite on a string, flew the balloon up into the windy air.
A camera attached to the balloon sent down video images to a
ground receiver, and a television monitor was set up outside
so everyone could see the area from the balloon's eye view. With
Cox holding the string, the balloon flew up and down, buffeted
by strong winds. The school kids enthusiastically tried to keep
up with the balloon as it zoomed across the grassy lawn and then
raced back up into the sky. All this activity made for rather
frenetic-looking video - as others watched the TV monitor they
saw a wild montage of children, grass, trees and sky.

Each picture links to
a 1280x1024-pixel JPG ranging in size from 256KB to 1MB.
Photo credit: Leslie Mullen, University of Florida for NASA

But the scientists weren't the only ones teaching
that Thursday morning. Second graders from Jones Valley Elementary
School showed off their handmade displays and lectured to an
interested audience of fifth graders from Williams Elementary.
Prompted by questions from their teachers, the second graders
explained charts they had designed describing the Global Positioning
System (GPS).

One chart, complete with detachable paper satellites, showed
the positions of GPS satellites orbiting the Earth. Another student
showed off her temperature detector, made from a string, cup
and thermometer.

GHCC scientists Dale Quattrochi and Jeff Luvall carried
around more sophisticated temperature detectors. The "Heat
Spy" temperature monitors look like ray guns, but they're
actually like reverse ray guns because they measure
rays rather than shoot them. Pulling the trigger of a Heat Spy
gives an instant temperature reading.

"This is a lot like the temperature devices we use onboard
a jet to read ground temperature levels," explained Quattrochi.
"Of course, those remote devices don't look quite like this."

After pointing at the asphalt (77 degrees Fahrenheit, or 25 deg.Celsius)
and the grass (69 deg. F, or 21 deg C), Quattrochi turned the
gun on the kids. They watched eagerly as Quattrochi used his
Heat Spy to read the surface temperatures off their arms.

"Let me try your head," Quattrochi said to one boy.
"Wow, you must be a hothead! It says 86 degrees!" The
kids all laughed and a girl asked him to read the temperature
off her fingernail polish. He complied, explaining it would also
show the temperature from her fingers.

Monitoring
temperature is an important part of evaluating the health of
the environment. Ground-level ozone, a dangerous pollutant, is
created through a combination of heat, sunlight, combustion by-products
and other organic compounds.

"The good ozone is way up high at the edge of the Earth's
atmosphere, whereas the bad ozone is close to the ground,"
Luvall said. "The ground-level ozone is dangerous because
it can scar lungs, and the damage is irreversible."

Luvall explained that planting trees and reducing heat levels
in a city can help combat ozone pollution. While the scientists
want to reduce ground-level ozone, they also want to ensure that
the stratospheric ozone - the "good" ozone that protects
us from harmful UV radiation - remains intact.

Atmospheric chemist Bryan Johnson from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration launched a large latex balloon with
a payload designed to test levels of stratospheric ozone. Johnson
explained that when the balloon reaches a certain height, the
change in atmospheric pressure causes it to burst. After the
balloon bursts, the ozone-testing payload parachutes down to
Earth. The payload includes a reward notice, promising $30 to
anyone who finds and returns it to the scientists.

Invigorated
by fresh air, balloon chasing and science, everyone headed back
to the Global Hydrology and Climate Center.

"Maybe you could be a scientist someday," GHCC scientist
Mike Newchurch suggested to one of the fifth graders as they
went inside. Pausing a moment to think it over, the boy replied,
"I want to be an astronomer."

"Hey!" exclaimed one of the fifth grade girls who
overheard the conversation, "I want to be an astronomer!"

Even though they weren't battling to become climatologists,
Newchurch replied with a smile, "Well, there'll always be
jobs for astronomers, because there'll always be stars."

If the scientists at the Global Hydrology and Climate Center
have their way, however, there won't always be problems with
the environment. By monitoring the health of the planet and educating
younger generations about their efforts, the GHCC scientists
are striving to bring that day a little bit closer.